All posts tagged ‘Making’

My position as a music and culture blogger has afforded me the opportunity to meet some truly amazing talents. From Dr. Octoroc, whose gorgeous sprite work perfectly parallels his infectious chiptunes, to Doc Popular, a man that continually displays a nigh superhuman mastery of everything from the yo-yo and the camera lens, but perhaps none manage to leverage as wildly disparate a skill set as Mr. Marty Allen.

Marty‘s lifelong passions have included music, design and puppetry, and he employs all three in the multimedia experience that is sock puppet rock band Uncle Monsterface. Combining feel-good music with film, video games and the requisite puppet show, Monsterface continually ranks among my favorite concert experiences, and its members — including the sometimes sock/sometimes man-sized puppet that shares the group’s name — among my very favorite geek rockers.

In his recently released book Sock Puppet Madness, Marty instructs readers in both the art and science of puppet-making. By employing his trademark charm and unpretentious wit — and by using Uncle Monsterface and many of his other unique creations as sock puppet projects — he’s managed to author that rare craft book that always inspires and never intimidates. Continue Reading “You’ll Go Crazy for Sock Puppet Madness” »

Kickstarter abounds with fun games, music, art projects, and more. My latest discovery on the site is the Tabletop Moviemaking Studio by Brick Maier.

If your kids are creative types, help them create movies with this kit and your tablet, phone, or other video recording device. The kit comes with everything you need to make movies, other than the recording device. It has the theater, lights, stands, backgrounds, props, and characters, and will inspire your kids to create their own components to add to the scenes.

Image: Brick Maier

The kit is self-contained, and you can get it for supporting the project at the $49 level, which I made sure to do. There are other levels as well, depending on how much you want to contribute. But it is more proof that you don’t need an expensive setup or high tech materials to make something original.

Brick Maier has already passed his initial goal, so this project will go ahead. There are less than three weeks left to contribute, though, and delivery of the product is estimated to be this October. There are also plenty of resources available on his website to help with the moviemaking process.

Earlier this year a neat project on Kickstarter caught my eye: “SparkLab: the educational build-mobile!” A couple of design students from the d.school at Stanford University in California had the insight to combine the idea of a mobile food truck with the hacking/DIY/making movement. Their goal was to create a mobile workshop to bring all the tools and equipment needed for hands-on, project-based learning to schools where no such support existed. I pledged my support and was excited to think I might get my name on a converted bread truck in California [I did!].

Tools and safety equipment inside the SparkTruck during MakerFaire.

Fast forward to Maker Faire Bay Area 2012: the SparkLab vehicle (now branded “SparkTruck“) exists! It was full of tools, safety equipment, and enthusiasm. The d.school students had gotten such a great response from their Kickstarter campaign that they decided to take a road trip across the US this summer, visiting summer camps and hosting classes at schools along the way!

The SparkTruck team is getting ready to make their first stop in Aspen, Colorado, this week. After that, it could come to you! (Having some cash to help pay for gas or the promise of a free pizza will help entice them. They are college students.) The team has a few stops already lined up, but they are still open to adding more workshops in additional cities.

If you’re afraid the kids might get bored this summer and the closest hackerspace is too far away, grab a few other parents and invite the SparkTruck to come by! Even if a niece or nephew are setting off to camp, let the camp know they can schedule a visit too.

Although many of us are comfortable teaching kids how to use a laser cutter, there are plenty of people that would prefer to let some experts handle it. Send them to SparkTruck.org to learn more.

Ponoko recently wrote up a cool idea for alternative gifts for our (and others’) kids. Instead of getting them a present at a big box store, they suggest something a bit more personal.

There are a ton of kid friendly projects on Ponoko’s Make and Sell shop including chess sets, rocking horses, a Scribble Engine (aka Spirograph) and much more. Some are available as files, and most can be purchased pre-cut from Ponoko.

I think the best gift would be to download the files, then with the child’s help personalize them before having the parts cut. To make it even more special take a trip to your local makerspace and laser cut the parts yourself. Check out Ponoko’s site for more ideas. What could be better than a gift than planting the Maker seed in their minds? Just be sure to nourish and nurture that seed as they grow older.

When I made robot outfits for my kids a couple years ago, I used a bunch of cardboard boxes I found at the recycling center and a whole lot of packing tape. There were parts that particularly used a lot of tape: securing the headbands to the insides of the robot heads so that they didn’t flop around on the kids’ heads. Building things out of boxes is a lot of fun, but it helps to have ways to attach things — and usually my X-acto knife skills aren’t up to the task of making tight-fitting tabs and slots.

As I mentioned in my review of Cardboard Box, You can get Mr. McGroovy’s cardboard rivets which will do a pretty nice job. These are small reusable connectors that let you connect cardboard together, and Mr. McGroovy also sells various plans for anything from castles to spaceships to a lemonade stand.

I received another cardboard-building solution this week, from Australia-based Makedo. Makedo sells small kits, for “making things from the stuff around you.” While this does include cardboard boxes, they also include cardboard tubes, plastic lids, paper cups … it’s all about building stuff with whatever you have. (Kind of like the Uberstix, although those appear to be more directed toward a particular project.) Makedo does sell some kits, like the Find&Make Robot which includes stickers for use on your robot or the Dollhouse kit, but the essentials are included in their Freeplay kit. Continue Reading “Makedo: Nuts & Bolts for Making Stuff” »

Maker Faire has been a Bay Area phenomenon since 2006 and has been growing ever since. This year the New York Hall of Science in Queens will be hosting The World Maker Faire on September 25th and 26th. Founded at the 1964 Worlds Fair, the New York Hall of Science is a hands-on learning center for families and it’s a perfect choice to host the World Maker Faire in New York.

Whether you’re into urban farming, model rocketry, experimental music, electronics, bicycling, arts and crafts,fashion or looking to learn more about the maker culture, this will be the weekend to do it. The list of exhibits is a who’s who of awesome, including a Rubik’s Cube-Solving Robot, a Life-Size Mouse Trap and Arc Attack . Plus a bevy of crafters, makers , hackers, artisans and all around interesting people. With over 300 exhibitors and hands on activities for kids and adults, there’s bound to be something to grab your interest.

I for one have been counting down the days to this event. GeekDad and GeekMom writers will be there and so should you! Tickets can be purchased at the official website.